Point Pleasant Beach News

January 16, 2018

Council Meeting Minutes

Mayor Reid called the meeting to order at 7:32PM. Present were Councilmen Vogel, Cortes, Kanitra, and Migut and Santanello. Councilman Toohey was absent. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: “Adequate notice of the time and place of this meeting was given under the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and was posted and sent to the officially designated newspapers in compliance with the law.”

Mayor Reid: discussed the need for an ordinance reducing plastic bags – is working with the Environmental Commission on this – will talk to the Chamber and Mayor of Long Beach, the first to move forward with this, and discuss again in a few weeks – maybe will have reusable bags that promote the Beach (Attorney Riordan: re-drafted the Long Beach ordinance).

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Councilman Vogel: Shade Tree Commission meeting date was changed – BA/CFO Riehl reached out to the County about street tree removal/replacement – working on street tree inventory and hazardous tree inventory – will be asking for financial support – also looking for Council support for another street project – updating the Borough’s Community Forestry Management Plan – their Annual Accomplishment report will be on the next agenda for the Mayor's signature (asked Clerk to forward a sample copy to Mayor & Council); Councilman Cortes filled in at the last Water/Sewer Committee meeting – water meter project will be bid in March, awarded in April and start in June – there are questions on how to handle billing problems when meters are replaced – BA/CFO Riehl will come up with recommendation to streamline the process – spoke about asset management – spent significant money over the last five years repairing broken mains – ties into the regulatory requirements under the Water Quality Act – Engineer was authorized to take this on – EIT grants are available – and outside firm will be doing required testing for lead and copper – encouraged new property owners to contact the town if they don't get their water bills – bill could be sent before deeds are recorded – thanked the Dept., which has been extremely busy with the storms – encouraged all to absent properly owners to winterize their homes, as there have been many broken water pipes this year – have asked BA/CFO Riehl for recommendation on getting ahead of water/sewer relief requests – residents should leave police their contact information when they go away, so they can gain access to the home, if needed.

Councilman Cortes: acknowledged January employee anniversaries – Derek O’Neill 19 years, Eileen Farrell 14; there was no Beautification Committee Meeting due to the snow – the Hennessy’s 3 barrels on Rte. 35S, across from Jersey Mikes, need to be replaced – suggested sending a letter (Mayor Reid: should ask if willing to put plants in them, not grass); Parking Authority meeting was cancelled due to snow and rescheduled – plowing was done nicely – per Bill 2226, a Parking Authority can be re-designated as redevelopment entity – asked Attorney Riordan to look into; received an e-mail from the Environmental Commission thanking him for being past liaison; talked to BA/CFO Riehl about the Ocean/Elizabeth dog waste station – the top half is missing; BA/CFO Riehl’s ceiling has been sheet rocked and painted – hopes leak has been repaired – Kyle Grace videotaped more raccoons either going in or out of the roof via a vent, which needs to be replaced; lake dredging is moving forward; Inlet wall is moving forward.

Councilman Kanitra: Environmental Commission is unanimously receptive to the Mayor's plastic bag ban; Commission talked about a new recycling ordinance – working up suggestions for February – thanked DPW Super Trout for coming to discuss it; exploring a grant for Little Silver Lake; working toward Sustainable Jersey certification and assembling a community Green Team in February or March; item 2d is a resolution he drafted – opposes Dept. of Interior’s Offshore Drilling Plan – buffer zones are in jeopardy – encouraged all to support, along with the Environmental Commission, Ocean and Monmouth County Freeholders and the NJ Congressional delegation – good to be out in front of it – will take the resolution to the Dept. of the Interior in DC himself; is meeting with JCPL about street lighting this month; has been in touch with Greg Cox regarding Historical Preservation – he and BA/CFO Riehl spoke about free No Smoking signs from Tobacco Free New Jersey that the Borough is eligible for due to our ordinance; is interested in creating a lot more two-way communication – would like a separate annual town survey mailing, just to hear what the community is thinking – would also like a quarterly town newsletter for dept. heads to talk about issues for those without Facebook – in the current cable ordinance, there is a section about Comcast providing PPB a public access TV channel – could be an easy communication tool – doesn't see that language in the proposed ordinance and would like it in continued negotiations (Attorney Riordan: it wasn't included in the draft ordinance from Comcast because Borough has never used the channel); brought up Councilman Migut’s idea to revive the PPHS student government – at Councilman Migut’s request, he broached the subject with the History Department – they are very excited about the idea.

Councilman Migut: former councilman Mayer slipped on ice in his driveway and broke 4 ribs – (BA/CFO Riehl will send a card); the Animal Welfare Committee is marking its 10th year anniversary – their spring fundraiser is in April at The Ark – asked for a proclamation; Planning Board reorganized – Chair is Mr. Ammirata, Vice Chair is Mr. Russell – they heard an application for an expansion of the Coal House – owner testified that a large part of his clientele rides the trolley from their hotel to the restaurant – added 50 seats to the restaurant without having to add parking, proving that the trolley is helping the downtown.

Councilman Santanello: he and Mayor Reid attended the Point Pleasant organization meeting – they swore in their Council President – PPB will do that going forward; Councilman Vogel mentioned the Water/Sewer Committee meeting – talked about snow clearing around hydrants – BA/CFO Riehl got quotes on her own and saved $1500; saw Jim Malone at the Historical Society today – they'd love to move to the Coast Guard building and would like to see more for the kids – will ask the Super. of Schools to reach out – asked BA/CFO Riehl if they could be on the Borough’s insurance – they pay for their own (Councilman Vogel: they are not for profit; Attorney Riordan: he'll talk to Jim; Mayor Reid: find out how much it is); Healthy Book Club and Chair Yoga start on the 4th Thursday of this month; he, Councilman Cortes, Chief Michigan, Capt. Duffy and Lt. Quaglia met about an App, that Councilman Kanitra saw at the NJLM Conference, to anonymously report non-emergencies – impressed – costs $1800/year – could be linked to the PPB App – Councilman Kanitra will meet with DPW Super Trout and ZO Petrillo on it as well (Mayor Reid: can always try it for a year; Councilman Cortes: works in other towns as well); reported on police activities since the last meeting, including training on Driving While Intoxicated, Field Sobriety, Canine and SWAT and there were 5 motor vehicle offenses and a DWI – reminded all that the PD will conduct daily house checks for those who are away and is committed to aged and those who live alone – can check in via Operation Outreach (Mayor Reid: suggested a reverse 9-1-1 announcement of the program – BA/CFO will do).

Mayor Reid: met with the Non-Resident Taxpayers Advisory Committee – doing a lot – people are very happy (Councilman Santanello: spoke about what BA/CFO Riehl is doing and about merging Water/Sewer and DPW, etc. – they are excited about the Mayor's plans – people are noticing that PPB is as it used to be; Mayor Reid: it’s not just him – it’s the whole Council – he appreciates everyone’s support) would like to speak with BA/CFO Riehl and Committee Chair Sloan about some of his suggestions; trolley has been such a success, he will be looking into buying 2 and paying for them over 4-5 years with advertising; all is good with the bike share program – has a banner to put up – needs to speak to businesses that want to participate and advertise; thanked DPW for great job during the snow storm (BA/CFO Riehl: State had allowed PPB to set up a reserve for snow expenses, including salt) met with a new parking meter company that is putting together a proposal – Councilmen Santanello and Vogel will attend the next meeting; he and BA/CFO Riehl met with a company about light poles for Parkway, the Boardwalk and Inlet area – they will come back with a proposal – Councilman Kanitra will attend the next meeting with them.

BA/CFO Riehl: were unofficially awarded $375K to pave St. Louis Ave. – were not awarded secondary funding for sidewalks on Arnold Ave. – can be looked at again; Little Silver Lake dredging is on schedule – there is a February 16 EIT loan closing date; the Green Acres Enabling Resolution is the last component of Risden’s Bathhouse – was appraised at $4.9M – will have received the full complement of $2.5M in funding – have received funding every year; met this morning about the Army Corps/DEP dune project – tentatively scheduled for a June 2018 PPB start at the north end of Risden’s, going south.

The Clerk announced additions to the agenda and the Mayor pulled Ordinance 2018-01.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:29PM.

Vincent Castin, PPB: raccoons are destructive – can’t mess around; boat museum in Bay Head would like to move to the Coast Guard Station; confirmed that the plastic bag ordinance would be for commercial establishments only; opposed to the bike share program; asked about items 1s and g. Dave Cavagnaro, PPB: plastic bag ordinance might impact Shop Local and tourism; asked about 1x.

Vincent Castin, PPB: asked that Governing Body look at limiting buses coming from out of town; asked if anything can be done about beach replenishment during the summer. Dave Cavagnaro, PPB: new lights should hang over the sidewalk, so trucks don't hit them; ice rink was nice – suggested it be in the lot next to Valentine House; asked about Jenkinson’s wall timeline.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:45PM

Motion to adjourn by Councilman Vogel was seconded by Councilman Migut and carried by consent of Council. Meeting was adjourned at 8:45PM.